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Harlem Cultural Festival
The Harlem Cultural Festival (also known as Black Woodstock) was a series of music concerts held in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City during the summers of 1967, 1968 and 1969 to celebrate African American music and culture and to promote the continued politics of black pride. Participants included Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, Jesse Jackson, Chuck Jackson, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, and Moms Mabley, among many others. For the concert featuring Sly and the Family Stone on June 29, 1969, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) refused to provide security, and it was instead provided by members of the Black Panther Party. The concerts took place in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park on Sundays at 3 PM from June 29 to August 24, 1969. The location was at the time called Mount Morris Park, but less than a year later, in June 1970, the Community Thing and other activist groups suggested naming the park for Marcus Garvey, a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, activist for black nationalism, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). The series had a combined attendance reaching nearly 300,000. Performers 1967 and 1968 performers included Count Basie, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Tito Puente, and Mahalia Jackson. 1969 29th June: *Sly and the Family Stone *The 5th Dimension *Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach *George Kirby *The Edwin Hawkins Singers *Babatunde Olatunji 13th July: * Mahalia Jackson *The Staple Singers *Herman Stevens and the Voices of Faith *Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Operation Breadbasket Band 20th July: *Stevie Wonder *David Ruffin *Chuck Jackson *Gladys Knight & the Pips *Lou Parks Dancers 27th July: *Mongo Santamaria *Ray Barretto *Cal Tjader *Herbie Mann *Harlem Festival Calypso Band 17th August: *Nina Simone *B.B. King, *Hugh Masakela *Harlem Festival Jazz Band 24th August: *Miss Harlem Pageant *La Rocque Bey & Co. *Listen My Brothers & Co. ? Moms Mabley Production Producer Hal Tulchin filmed the full concert series, though the majority of this film remains commercially unreleased. New York's affiliate television station WNEW Metromedia Channel 5 (now FOX) broadcast hour-long specials of the footage on Saturday evenings at 10:30 PM in June–August 1969. The festival was hosted and promoted by Tony Lawrence, a New York night club singer. Sponsors included Maxwell House Coffee, and the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Division of the City of New York (now separated into Parks and Recreation and Cultural Affairs). 50th anniversary A 50th Year Anniversary celebration of the Harlem Cultural Festival took place August 14–17 in Harlem, hosted by Future x Sounds and City Parks Foundation Summerstage. The events featured musical performances by Talib Kweli, Cory Henry, Alice Smith, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Keyon Harrold, Braxton Cook, Freddie Stone (who performed at the original event), George "Spanky" McCurdy, Nate Jones On Bass, and was musically directed by Igmar Thomas . The event also featured conversations with Jamal Joseph, Felipe Luciano, Gale Brewer, Toni Blackman, Juma Sultan, Voza Rivers, among many others at Harlem Stage and the Schomburg. See also *List of historic rock festivals *List of festivals in the United States *List of blues festivals References Further reading * External links * Sly And The Family Stone Live At Harlem Cultural Festival - 1969 (audio only) *Image of Festival Poster with select video footage * * Category:1969 music festivals Category:African-American festivals Category:African-American history in New York City Category:Concerts in the United States Category:Festivals in New York City Category:Harlem Category:Rock festivals in the United States Category:Soul festivals Category:1960s music festivals Category:Blues festivals in the United States Category:R&B festivals Category:African American culture Category:Music festivals in New York Category:1967 music festivals Category:1968 music festivals Category:Music festivals established in 1967